p the boiler:So... Are my little pony fans like furies, but without costumes? I really don't understand at all.

They're people. Most of them have to some degree embraced the lessons and values imposed by the show (weregoingtoloveandtoleratetheshiatoutofyou.jpg), which is something that's a bit different from other fandoms that might be based on a mass media property.

It's particularly interesting for the socially disconnected because the whole show is kind of a how-to manual for being a functional social person.

p the boiler:So... Are my little pony fans like furies, but without costumes? I really don't understand at all.

Sigh. Time to put on my begrudgingly informative pants.

"Fursuiters" are a small subset of the furry community, and while every furry con (and most comic book cons) will have a few, the vast majority of people in the community just like the art/psychological/psychosexual aspects. It's the idea of animal traits, not the dressing up like you work at Disneyland.

Bronies are fandom cousins, but there isn't a specific crossover between them.

There is creepy porn of Transformers, so don't act like pony porn and furry porn is the weirdest thing on the Internet, even if it creeps you (and me) out. farking robots.

BronyMedic:The totally not gay people who watch TV Wrasslin. Which is totally NOT gay in any way.

I mean. Come on, people. What is homosexual about two half-naked men in a spandex thong wrestling around on a mat? Grabbing eachother. Getting all hot and sweaty, and rubbing on eachother while trying to flex their muscles to the camera.

Totally. Not. Gay.

I seriously had a guy who spent an inordinate amount of his meager income on his TV wrasslin' obsession (PPV, tshirts, paraphanalia etc) try to tell me that guys who don't watch wrasslin' are gay.

My response to him reminded me of your post only, you know, with more swearing.

I actually only started watching MLP because of Fark and the memes.

Was a fan of Faust since PPG and am a huge fan of Tara Strong's work.

It's a fun show, with distinctive art, a positive message and plenty of cultural references for the elders.

I wouldn't call myself a Brony per se but I am Brony adjacent (my sister who runs a day care is a huge fan as well and a self described Brony) and Brony-friendly in that I delight in bashing trolls who wander into Pony threads determined to troll the shiat out of the thing.

likefunbutnot:It's particularly interesting for the socially disconnected because the whole show is kind of a how-to manual for being a functional social person.

And a lot of these basic social skills transfer directly to the adult/business/academic/professional world. Applejack's overwork ("Applebuck Season") detracts from her productivity, a lesson in QA and process management ("Super-Speedy-Cider-Squeezy 6000") disguised as a tribute to "The Music Man," and, of course, Twilight's innovative way of dealing with deadline pressure in "Lesson Zero"... or were the events of Lesson Zero all the result of Celestia being a poor manager and choosing the wrong metric?

p the boiler:So... Are my little pony fans like furies, but without costumes? I really don't understand at all.

Bronies and Furries are self-selected titles, and are two separate (but distinct) subgroups.

The furries you're thinking of are the suit wearers, and they are in fact a very small minority among the furry community. (Similar to how a fat douchebag in Harley Davidson gear revving an engine through city limits is not representative of motorcycle riders as a whole)

Most furries, when asked about suiting, just kind of agree that it's someone's thing and to live and let live. They're not really offended if someone asks about the CSI episode (dude in a weird farking-in-suit-club got murdered) if done so with an open mind. I'm not a furry, but the con I went to convinced me that they're pretty cool people with a spiffy (if stereotypical) philanthropy goal - the 2009 Louisville fur con raised money for a no-kill animal shelter and got a couple of local businesses to donate a portion of sales to the cause. I went with a buddy of mine and we had a blast.

Twilight Farkle:I'm at a loss as to whether the bulk of the material out there was created under R34 or R35/43. By R19/20 ("The more you hate it the stronger it gets"/"Nothing is to be taken seriously") demand that my response to it be a shrug, a "dudes, that's creepy," and some laughter.

I don't think it's either. There's a lot of legitimate MLP anthro-furry porn simply because the audience already exists in the form of people who are down with that sort of thing. Yeah, maybe the first guy who put Fluttershy-with-a-giant-boner pictures on 4Chan or Tumblr or whatever was doing Rule 34 but I suspect that the vast majority of it is kind of a confused extension of fur-inclined sexuality. And yeah, that's weird, but as far as the spectrum of human sexuality goes, at least it has a place on the map and give some people an outlet.

I'd like to say that only an extraordinarily tiny fraction of MLP fandon has any overlap with sexuality in any way at all but it's probably one of those things where any percentage over zero equates to every single person who has ever liked it.

Coco LaFemme:I support smacking around the MLP fans who write erotica featuring the characters and themselves or other humans. I mean, if you're writing a story that focuses on you farking a cartoon horse.....I'm just saying they make great psychiatric meds nowadays.

I find it amusing that the Brony documentary song-video-thing that was linked a couple weeks ago explicitly mentioned "Clopping", albeit only by way of stating that it isn't to be discussed.

BronyMedic:The point I decided to leave is when an 18 year old kid who still lived at home with his mom and dad, no job, decided to look at me and say I didn't know anything about life.

For what it's worth, I ascribe a lot of the fanbase's quirks to its relative newness - not only has the show only been around for a couple of years, most of its fans are new to fandom . Everything matters more than it ought to, hence the hysterical overreaction over the Twicorn thing, etc.

I've been randomly tuning in to livestreams of the Vegas con all weekend, and it looks like they're slowly figuring it out. They'll eventually find their place in the broader world of fandom/nerdery/geekery, it'll just take a while.

BronyMedic:That said above, the fandom's obsession with ponies and BDSM is...creepy.

Eh, I think it reinforces my theory that the Pony fandom the equivalent to cousins of the furry community. Lots of tolerance for people into weird sh**, because the collective agrees that its into weird sh**. Lots of reasonably normal people at the cons, but they get overshadowed by the 3 or 4 assclowns who take things too far.

Furries are pretty open about their sexuality, and it would stand to reason that Pony fans pride themselves on openness - including sexuality.

I'm not going to love and tolerate a person who showed up at my place of employment, refused to leave when asked, and had to be escorted off the grounds by security because he wanted to "hang out" with me after following the person I was seeing at the time who was bringing me dinner. The same person who then went off several weeks later to complain about how he had to wait 30 minutes on his drive home because an officer of the Memphis Police Department, killed in the line of duty after taking a bullet meant for her partner, had her funeral procession delay him, and then said that was "selfish" for them to do to him. The same person who went to the head of the group and accused me of starting drama, while protecting another individual who had caused several of the underaged people (read: 13 - 17 year old girls) to leave the group because he made them uncomfortable. A person who, even after I left the group, continued to talk bad about me behind my back to my friends. This is that 18 year old with the "punchable" face. He's the one who called my room mate's girlfriend, someone I highly respect, "a biatch and told her to leave, the men were talking about ponies." (Not even being joking on this one)

I'm not going to love and tolerate a woman who stole and traced a good friend of mine's art and lied about it when confronted, who I actually at one point tried to help because supposedly she was stuck with an "abusive" room mate (but is now in business with that room mate), who lied about being ill and in the hospital to get money and free stuff from members in the group, and who after I refused to let her and her "husband" at the time use my spare room, decided to insert herself into my divorce, tell my ex-wife I was hiding money and sleeping with under aged girls in the group, as well as tried to involve my employer by telling them that I was recording kiddie porn while at work.

This same woman lied about being raped by her husband's "ex boyfriend" to the group, a man who wasn't even in the same area of the state when she said it happened.

I'm not going to love and tolerate a group of people who actively protect members who belittle, harass, and make others uncomfortable, and the "leaders" of the group do nothing about it. The last straw was when we had someone who sexually harassed a 13 year old, and it was pointed out by one of the members and nothing was done about it. (This 20 something walked up to her, and just grabbed her breast.)

It's been pointed out before, even among "brony famous" people, that the community uses "Love and Tolerate" as an excuse for poor social skills, sexual harassment and misogyny, and generally inexcusable behavior.

Shadow Blasko:You gonna be the spokespony for the group again? Just like earlier when you said that all of the NASCAR fans are just there for the crashes, and got your posts wiped for it?

I'm not speaking for the Brony community, just like I'm not a NASCAR fan. I'm speaking of my own personal experiences with the local fan group.

You can be miffed at me today. We'll both get over it and move on - I'm sure at some point you've said something to irk me, too. I find it odd that on a website which has it's members crack jokes and even glorify the deaths of everything from Police Officers, to Paramedics and Nurses in the line of duty, to 9/11 Victims, that an off-handed, sarcastic comment about NASCAR that wasn't even alone in being made in the thread set you off against me.

Canton:XMark: Clicked a few times. But it's Fluttershy, so I just feel bad about myself :(

I clicked... more than a few times. Mostly because I wanted to be sure I'd seen all the different expressions.

And now I'm vaguely worried that my plastic pony herd will be attacking me in my dreams nightmares tonight. (Luckily their superhero guardian, Huntress, has some balance issues due to tiny feet and a general failure of adhesives this winter. She cannot help them. So there's that.)

Always an occupational hazard after spending a night listening to pony music.

It's such a cute show, and it has such a positive message for my 9 year old. We've bonded so much over this show. It just kills me when people come in and hate on the Bronies. I'm a grown adult and I like the show. Don't hate, people. LOVE AND TOLERATE

/) (\

Bro hoof!

Back at ya with bells on.

Peace, love, tolerance and understanding for the win.

/Big Lebowski references, etc, are just icing on the Wincake.//Or cupcake if you prefer,///Mmmm cupcakes! Almost as good as pie.

quatchi:BronyMedic: The totally not gay people who watch TV Wrasslin. Which is totally NOT gay in any way.

I mean. Come on, people. What is homosexual about two half-naked men in a spandex thong wrestling around on a mat? Grabbing eachother. Getting all hot and sweaty, and rubbing on eachother while trying to flex their muscles to the camera.

Totally. Not. Gay.

I seriously had a guy who spent an inordinate amount of his meager income on his TV wrasslin' obsession (PPV, tshirts, paraphanalia etc) try to tell me that guys who don't watch wrasslin' are gay.

My response to him reminded me of your post only, you know, with more swearing.

I actually only started watching MLP because of Fark and the memes.

Was a fan of Faust since PPG and am a huge fan of Tara Strong's work.

It's a fun show, with distinctive art, a positive message and plenty of cultural references for the elders.

I wouldn't call myself a Brony per se but I am Brony adjacent (my sister who runs a day care is a huge fan as well and a self described Brony) and Brony-friendly in that I delight in bashing trolls who wander into Pony threads determined to troll the shiat out of the thing.

Those are the real creeps in my rarely humble opinion.

YOU.

I love you, man.

It's such a cute show, and it has such a positive message for my 9 year old. We've bonded so much over this show. It just kills me when people come in and hate on the Bronies. I'm a grown adult and I like the show. Don't hate, people. LOVE AND TOLERATE

rickycal78:It's not the show or characters that are the problem, it's the creepy guys that end up being fans of the show. And I don't mean the ones that are "The show is decently done and I watch it with my kid and I enjoy the show" type fans. It's the "MLP are awesome, have you read my clopping fanfic?" and the "What this discussion really needs are captioned Pony pics" type fans.

The internet is a dumping ground for people who don't like to socialize with others. Weirdness is a given.

That being said, I do see where you're coming from in that perception, and Ponies have their share of weirdos (most of whom cluster around the awkward teenage male subset). I like the show, I like the art, and I like all the randomness the fanbase produces. There's porn and there's fapping to porn - just like every popular thing in the history of ever. Most of the problems are derived from the fanbase being so new (the people I have talked to have mentioned this being their first or second "real" fandom). Some of the older (mid 20s, but by internet standards, I'm old) fans have done this rodeo before and aren't afraid to tell the youngin's to shut the bloody hell up.

Finally, let he who's never searched for Pony tentacle hentai at 2 in the morning cast the first stone

It's not the show or characters that are the problem, it's the creepy guys that end up being fans of the show. And I don't mean the ones that are "The show is decently done and I watch it with my kid and I enjoy the show" type fans. It's the "MLP are awesome, have you read my clopping fanfic?" and the "What this discussion really needs are captioned Pony pics" type fans.

quatchi:Meh, Bronies are still ten times less creepy than people who watch tv wrasslin' and take it seriously.

Seriously.

The totally not gay people who watch TV Wrasslin. Which is totally NOT gay in any way.

I mean. Come on, people. What is homosexual about two half-naked men in a spandex thong wrestling around on a mat? Grabbing eachother. Getting all hot and sweaty, and rubbing on eachother while trying to flex their muscles to the camera.

Coco LaFemme:I support smacking around the MLP fans who write erotica featuring the characters and themselves or other humans. I mean, if you're writing a story that focuses on you farking a cartoon horse.....I'm just saying they make great psychiatric meds nowadays.

All true, but the Rule 34 ("There is porn of it, no exceptions") and Rule 43 ("The more beautiful and pure a thing is - the more satisfying it is to corrupt it") were descriptive, not prescriptive, and predate their writings. Rule 35, ("If no porn is found at the moment, it will be made") is the prescriptive form of R34. I'm at a loss as to whether the bulk of the material out there was created under R34 or R35/43. By R19/20 ("The more you hate it the stronger it gets"/"Nothing is to be taken seriously") demand that my response to it be a shrug, a "dudes, that's creepy," and some laughter.

I've never watched an episode of MLP. My wife and I sort of put it on the pile with the rest of the TV shows we haven't watched yet. We swear we'll eventually watch a few episodes to figure out what all the fuss is about, but we never have. This list includes such shows as "Torchwood," "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad" and more.

BronyMedic:Ed Grubermann: BronyMedic: The point I decided to leave is when an 18 year old kid who still lived at home with his mom and dad, no job, decided to look at me and say I didn't know anything about life.

That's 99% of all 18-year-olds.

Yeah, but this one was really obnoxious, and had a punchable face at that. :)

Coco LaFemme:I support smacking around the MLP fans who write erotica featuring the characters and themselves or other humans. I mean, if you're writing a story that focuses on you farking a cartoon horse.....I'm just saying they make great psychiatric meds nowadays.

Sliding scale of Anthropomorphism comes into play there. But, like I said before, fetishes into peoples faces, yada yada yada.

It actually brings up an interesting point: Aside from the religious arguments, one of the prime rationales against Bestiality is that an animal cannot give consent. How much does that change when you're talking about anything of a separate species with at, or above human intelligence and communications capability.

This doesn't just apply to Furries, or FiM, though. It applies to any fictional universe with non-human characters. I mean, if you want to get technical, Mass Effect 3 and FemSheppard's romance choices with Wrex were bestiality.